Enrichment of gasoline



United States Patent .0

2,829,033" ENRICHMENT F GASOLINE Palmer H. Craig, Coral Gables, Fla.

No Drawing. Application February 11, 1953 Serial No. 336,433

14 Claims. (Cl. 44-52) The present invention is concerned with hydrocarbon fuels, more particularly with the more volatile type of such fuels combined and designated as gasoline and used in internal combustion engines.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a simple and relatively inexpensive procedure which utilizes materials that are readily available at low cost, which utilizes simple, inexpensive and compact equipment and which requires no safeguard other than those used with ordinary gasolines to ensure against fire, explosion or health hazards in manufacture, transport and use; which serves substantially to improve the performance of gasoline regardless of its source or composition, and more particularly to effect material improvement in its horsepower or mileage output and in its anti-knock rating, to effect a marked decrease in troublesome carbon deposit upon combustion, and to renderrelatively stable the gasoline as thus processed, regardless of climatic changes, and'agitation to which it may be subjected in transit prior to actual combustion, so that its superior qualities are fully maintained even though the gasoline be not actually used for many weeks after it has been prepared.

As conducive to a clear understanding of the invention, it is noted that while the desirability of ozone as a component of fuels has commended itself to workers in the art, no improvement has heretofore been accomplished suitable for commercial application, largely because the amount of ozone introduced intothe fuel is not willciently controlled, and that which is introduced moreover does not form a stable complex therewith, but losses and chemical changes render it ineffective before the fuel reaches the ultimate consumer and before it is actually consumed in normal course.

The present invention is based on the discovery that a stabilized ozone bearing gasoline that fully accomplishes the desired objectives may be obtained by utilizing the following three features in combination:

(a) Treating'with ozone only-a hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction of the gasoline, desirably the fraction or fractions of relativelylower boiling point and preferably the fraction of the very lowest boiling point.

I (b) Incorporating in the low boiling fraction or frac- -the air being bubbled through the unsaturate fraction.

tions an amount ofozone between predetermined limits and preferably in the order of 9 gms. per U; S. gallon of such fraction, before admixing such treated fraction with the other fractions of the gasoline.

(c). Adding to the hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction be- 7 ing treated with ozone and preferably before such treatment, a small amount of acetone.

The gasoline blend commonly in use includes hydrocarbon unsaturates of relatively low boiling point, usually comprising one or more of the olefins which fraction after the treatment aboveindicated and below more fully set forth, is added to the other constituents to form the whole gasoline.

The ozonation is preferably effected by simply bubbling regular course.

The hydrocarbon unsaturates, usually constituting from one to seven and one-half percent by volume of the whole, may be such compounds as pentene-l, pentene-2, Z-methylbutene-Z or di-isobutylene, all of which have such avidity for ozone that substantially all of the ozone in the air passed will be selectively intercepted and substantially all of the air as such. passed through, unless the rate of air flow is far in excess of those hereinbelow specified. Ac-. cordingly the amount of ozone taken on by the hydrocarbon unsaturates may readily be computed by multiplying the concentration of ozone in the air used by the period of time that such air is passed through the fraction being ozonated. However, in the absence of the small proportion of acetone hereinafter more fully set forth, the ozone complex withthe hydrocarbon unsaturates is rather un a stable and thedesired advantages are usually lost by the time the processed gasoline is consumed in ordinary commercial practice.

Acetone, which isfinexpensive and readily available, performs in some way for which no demonstrable scientific explanation is available, to'stabilize the ozone complex with the hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction of gasoline being treated, so that such complex will not release the ozone or otherwise lose its added efficacy prior to its combustion in a The remarkable action occurs though the acetone is present in what appears to be a very insignificant proportion. Its action may conceivably be catalytic. The acetone has the further advantage of fixing a substantially definite end point to the ozone incorporated into the molecule of the fuel fraction being treated, that is, it precludes the incorporation, whether in actual or pseudo-chemical combination of an excessive amount of ozone. Thus the acetone appears to preclude the gradual formation of hydrocarbon unsaturate ozone complex from ozone remaining in solution after the processing has been discontinued, and it checks decomposition of the ozone complex actually formed, regardless of climatic changes or agitation to which the gasoline may be subjected in transit prior to combustion. Accordingly the predetermined amount of ozone incorporated in the fuel (no more and no less), remains available for combustion at According to the invention, one or more fractions of relatively lower boiling point, but preferably the fraction of lowest boiling point, generally one of those previously enumerated, is admixed with the stabilizing acetone prior to ozonation, in proportion in the order of .05 to 5.0 percent and preferably about 0.2 percent by volume of the fraction being ozonated to attain the full unsaturate, such as pentene-Zor di-isobutylene thathad,

been previously admixed with the desired small amount of acetone '(.05 to 5.0 percent and preferably about 0.2

percent by volume of the unsaturate), air having 2 mg. of ozone per liter is pumped at the rate of 300 liters per minute per gallon of unsaturate to bubble through such fraction for minutes, which will efiect theincorporation of about 9 gms. of ozone per U. S. gallon of such unsaturate. One part by volume of the thus treated unsaturate is added to nineteen parts of the other fractions of the gasoline to make the whole gasoline. By using air with somewhat higher concentration of ozone, the period of treatment may be proportionately reduced, and if the available concentration of ozone is lower than 2 mg. per liter of air, the period of treatment would be proportionately increased.

While the best results have been accomplished by incorporating approximately 9 gms. of ozone per U. '8. gallon of the lowest boiling unsaturate fraction of gasoline withtlic previously added small percentage of acetone, a lesser or a higher concentration of ozone in the gasoline fraction may be availed of, with results that are still advantageous but short of the optimum. Thus as little as 1.8 gms. of ozone per gallon of the fraction being treated will accomplish to some degree the desired improvement, but with ozone content of less than 1.8 gms. per gallon of unsaturate treated, no material advantageous result is attained. The use of more than 40 gms. of ozone per gallon of the unsaturate is worse than no treatment at all. For with such excessive amount of ozone, none of the benefits above set forth is attained and the disadvantages are incurred of substantial gum formation and lower octane rating. The nearer the ozone content is to approximately 9 gms. per gallon of the unsaturatc, the better the performance.

After the treatment set forth, the other constituents to make the whole gasoline are then mixed with the treated unsaturate or unsaturates.

Gasoline processed according to the present invention may be transported and stored in conventional manner and with conventional equipment without the need for any added precautions and maintains its ozone content without loss or decomposition until it is consumed in the internal combustion engine.

When the carbureter is adjusted properly for the fuel enriched according to the foregoing teachings, the operation would at best be more or less erratic were ordinary gasoline to be used. A substantially leaner mixture serves for the gasoline enriched according to the present invention.

As measured by comparative tests under identical conditions with the processed gasoline as compared with the like unprocessed gasoline, the present invention in its preferred embodiment results in improved mileage performance of an automobile of from 7 to 11 percent, depending upon a number of factors, mainly the compression ratio of the engine.

Theprocessed gasoline effects an increase in the antiknock rating in the order of 3 points so that the invention will impart to otherwise ordinary gasoline some of the important advantages attained by resort to the tetraethyl lead incorporated in the usual premium gasolines.

The ozone incorporated in the fuel contributes so markedly to complete combustion of the hydrocarbon that the problem of carbon deposit on the piston heads is materially reduced by the present invention.

As many changes could be made in the above process and product, and many apparently widely ditfercnt embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The process of preparing gasoline in order to improve its horsepower output and its anti-knock rating with decrease in carbon deposit upon combustion, which comprises bubbling air having a substantial proportion of ozone therein, into a fraction of the gasoline that is an olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate of relatively lower boiling point, until the ozone content of said fraction is between 1.8 and 40 gms. per U. S. gallon of such fraction, and then admixing said fraction with the other fractions of the gasoline.

2. The process of preparing gasoline in order to improve its horsepower output and its anti-knock rating with decrease in carbon deposit upon combustion, which comprises bubbling air having a given ozone concentration through a fraction of the gasoline that is the olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction of gasoline which has the lowest boiling point, until the product of such ozone concentration and the time of such bubbling is equal to approximately 9 gms. of ozone per U. S. gallon of the fraction being treated, and thereupon admixing the thus treated fraction with the remainder of the gasoline.

3. Theprocess of preparing gasoline in order to improve its horsepower output and its anti-knock rating with decrease in carbon deposit upon combustion, which comprises introducing a proportion of acetone not exceeding 5 percent by volume thereof into an olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction of the gasoline having a lower boiling point and bubbling ozone-carrying air thcrcthrough until there is present in said fraction not less than 1.8 gms. and not more than 40 gms. of ozone per U. S. gallon, and thereupon admixiugth'e treated fraction with the rest of the gasoline.

4. The process recited in claim 3 in which the acetone is added to the fraction being treated before subjecting it to the ozone treatment, and in which such acetone is in proportion of .05 to 5 percent by volume of the fraction being treated.

5. The process of preparing gasoline in order to improve its horsepower output and its anti-knock rating with decrease in carbon deposit upon combustion, which comprises mixing into an olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturatc fraction of the gasoline which has the lowest boiling point, a proportion of acetone not exceeding 5 percent by volume of said fraction and bubbling ozone-carrying air therethrough until there ispresent in said fraction approximately 9 gms. per U. S. gallon of ozone, and thereupon admixing the treated fraction with the rest of the gasoline.

6. The process recited in claim 5 in which the acetone is added to the fraction being treated with ozone before such treatment and in which the amount of such acetone is of the order of 0.2 percent by volume of the fraction being treated.

7. In the preparation of an improved gasoline product, the admixture of an olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate of low boiling point with ozone until the ozone content has reached between 1.8 and 40 gms. per U. S. gallon and the admixture of such treated unsaturate fraction with the remaining fractions of the gasoline.

8. In the preparation ofan improved gasoline product, the admixture with an olelinic hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction of said product that has ,a low boiling point of a proportion of acetone not exceeding 5 percent of volume of said fraction followed by the bubbling of air containing ozone through such unsaturate until the ozone content of said unsaturate is in the neighborhood of 9 gms. per U. S. gallon and the admixture of said low boiling fraction with the other fractions to make up the gasoline. I V

9. The method recited in claim 8 inwhich the unsaturate is selected from the group consisting of pentene- 1, pentene-2, Z-methyIbutyIene-Z and di-isobutylene.

10. The process ofpreparing gasoline in order to improve its horsepower output and its anti-knock rating with decrease in carbon deposit upon combustion, which comprises admixing a low boiling olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate fraction of the gasoline with a proportion of acetone not exceeding 5 percent by volume of said fraction, pumping air that bears in the neighborhood of 2 mg. of ozone per liter through such fraction at rate in the order of 300 liters of air per minute per U. S. gallon of unsaturate, continuing said operation for in the order of 15 minutes, and thereupon admixing said treated fraction with the other fractions of the gasoline.

11. The process recited in claim 10 in which the minor proportion of acetone added to the hydrocarbon unsaturate prior to ozonation is of the order of 0.2 percent of such unsaturate.

12. A gasoline containing from l to 7.5% by volume of a low boiling olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate having combined therewith ozone in. the amount of 1.8 to 40 gms. per U. S. gallon of unsaturate, the gasoline having acetone therein in the amount of ,05 to 5.0 percent by volume of unsaturate.

13. A gasoline containing from 1 to 7.5% by volume of a low boiling olefinic hydrocarbon unsaturate having combined therewith about 9 gms. of ozone per U. S.

gallon of unsaturate, the gasoline having acetone therein 7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,689,599 Ramage Oct. 30, 1928 1,758,898 Howard May 13, 1930 2,077,994 Ellis Apr. 20, 1937 2,194,887 De Lamprecht Mar. 26, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 166,227 Switzerland Mar. 1, 1934 580,820 Great Britain Sept. 20, 1946 

12. A GASOLINE CONTAINING FROM .1 TO 7.5% BY VOLUME OF A LOW BOILING OLEFINIC HYDROCARBON UNSATURATE HAVING COMBINED THEREWITH OZONE IN THE AMOUNT OF 1.8 TO 40 GMS. PER U. S. GALLON OF UNSATURATE THE GASOLINE HAVING ACETONE THEREIN IN THE AMOUNT OF .05 TO 5.0 PERCENT BY VOLUME OF UNSATURATE. 